


Advent calendar drabble #8

by begformercytwice



Series: Advent Calendar 2012 [8]
Category: The Hour
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-08
Updated: 2012-12-08
Packaged: 2017-11-20 15:27:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/586867
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/begformercytwice/pseuds/begformercytwice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Early in Marnie and Hector's marriage.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Advent calendar drabble #8

The first time Hector was unfaithful, she hadn't cried. She'd thought she would; every hint she'd picked up on, the late nights, the furtive phonecalls, she'd wept over them. But in the end, when the final proof was presented to her, she shed no tears.

She'd thought about leaving that morning, barely three months into their marriage, when he came home drunk, slumped onto the couch, and shouted for someone named Jessica. She waited it out, though, while he slept it off, and then questioned him about who this Jessica was. When he finally admitted that, yes, he'd been having an affair since not long after they were engaged, she packed a bag and left, ignoring his promises that he would end it.

She stayed away for a week, avoiding both his phonecalls to her parents' house, and her mother's pleas for her to go back to him. According to her, the scandal of a divorce would be worse than living with a philanderer, and did she expect another man would want her after leaving one husband? After finally snapping and telling her mother that a thousand divorces would be less painful than listening to her, she was left with nowhere to go but back to Hector.

He acted appropriately repentant, swearing up and down that he'd finished with the girl, that he'd never even look at another woman again, that he'd be the model husband. It was hard to believe him, what with the faint smell of booze on his breath and the filthy state of the house, but the look in his eyes seemed to be sincere, at least for the moment.

When she thought about it afterwards, she couldn't quite pin down why she had forgiven him. She could survive without him, regardless of what her mother said; she'd been to secretarial school (against everyone's wishes), so she at least had some skills to put to use. She could live like a real single girl, going out to parties and nightclubs without risking her parents' or husband's disapproval.

Through it all, though, she'd been thinking back to her wedding day. When she'd made her vows to Hector, she'd meant every word. She loved him, and always would, regardless of how poorly he treated her. Maybe she was a fool to do so, she thought, but she'd made her choice, and she was going to stand by it.


End file.
